Surprisingly affordable compared to 2007 Campy ($490 crankset!). After reading many reviews of the DoubleTap shifter mechanism I don't think I'll have any trouble adapting. This should work out really well, the bike parts and my new saddle, helmet will be ready when I return from business in Central Asia on the 15th.

I'm using an Ultegra 6600 12-27 cassette because I wanted the low gearing while still retaining a normal 53-39 crankset. My current Specialized has a 52-42-30 and a 12-25 triple on it, which is mostly frustrating. I find that on longer steep hills the 42-25 is not low enough, but combos like 30-21 and 30-23 are too low.

I like the new bottom range much better than my current setup, and it will be nice to upgrade from nine speed 105...

Can anyone comment on Pedal Force's estimated weights? Low? High? Wildly inaccurate? This component list without saddle is suppose to weigh 15.04 pounds. If it calculates the weight for the fork with uncut steerer, and uncut seatpost, it's may be high. Temporarily going with the $179 Easton Vista SL wheelset at 1700g. The plan is to keep the Vista SL for training purposes and get a really nice wheelset in the 1450g range in the next month or two.

I'll be adding a Specialized Toupe 143 saddle (140g) and a set of Crank Brothers Eggbeater C pedals (285g).

I have yet to read a good review on how these frames ride.I'd also like to see some frame stiffness data. I suspect that this frame might embarass some $3500 frames.

Ditto on the above points

Please post a thorough review of the ride qaulities of this frame when you get a few rides in on it. I will likely be purchasing one through the group buy in the next couple of days as the qualities of the qs2-s seem stellar.

Send email to info@pedalforce.com , they will sell you a frame if you tell them you wanted to take part in the Bikeforums.net frame group buy but can't wait 100 days. Ming has been very helpful and responds to emails faster than most other online bike stores / part stores.

Easton (Velomax) Vista SL wheelset, 1030g + 806g bare, a full 136g over claimed weight. These do have a nice 30mm aero profile rim and the hubs look like a good deal for the money. Only $179 US for front and rear... a fine winter training wheelset.

Wheelset came with the bike - when configuring a pedal force the Vista SL are the default wheelset, or you can save $179 by removing the wheelset entirely. I decided to keep them to use while my custom set are being built, and for winter training.

The RS is significantly stiffer in the BB, and there's less road vibration. It does feel a bit more dead when riding, sort of like riding a thick plank of wood... But that's a good thing. I still have excellent road feel through the bars but the saddle vibration is reduced even with a much thinner Toupe saddle.

This is the first full-carbon frame bike I've owned so I don't have a lot to compare it to. I can say that the front end feels less flexy in out of the saddle hammering. The fork and headset junction is definitely stiffer than my Specialized. For those who care about weight the frame with bottom bracket cable guide, downtube cable stops, derailleur hanger, without seatpost collar was 1130g. It's a 58cm.

I think I want to try round drop "european traditional" belgian style drop bars that have a longer flat section in the drops. The Ritchey WCS bar is nice, but there's only one possible hand position when in the drops on an "ergo" bar.

My main complaint is that I couldn't get the fork and seatpost without the Pedal Force logo. It's not as bad as their old logo, but I'm going for the full stealth design... the plan is to cover them up with some stickers.

One LBS employee asked "is that a Colnago?". It was at a shop that mostly does high-end mountain bikes, so I'll forgive him the mistake... but is there a Colnago frame that looks anything like this?

The Pedal Force seatpost is nice and light. It was something like 160g at 300mm, very nearly the weight of a Thomson Masterpiece in the same length. Great deal for $50 or $60.

Components: The stock brake pads on SRAM Force brakes still aren't as good as the $5 Kool-Stop black pads from www.pricepoint.com. They were the first thing to go. I believe the ramping and pinning on a Dura Ace 53 ring is significantly better than the SRAM rings. Shimano has various patents on the inner design of that ring... and for good reason! Chain pickup is very quick. I have no problems with the front derailleur's lack of adjustment like a Chorus/Record setup, because I don't use stupid cross-chaining combos.

EVERYONE should order a spare chain and cassette from Ming when they buy their bike. He's selling them at wholesale cost. The SRAM PC-1090 and a Ultegra 6600 12-27 were $80 together. Saved something like $25-30 over buying them separately later on. Usually the CS-6600 is $65 by itself...

[QUOTE=Hammertoe]Hey tusked one...

What length stem is that...

Which headset did you use...

Where did you get the spacers that match so well...

Any more pictures of your RS. I did a search and only turned up pictures of the frame...

Thanks[/QUOTE]

It's a 110mm stem, headset is the FSA integrated model that came taped to the frame when it was couriered to me from Singapore. The spacers came from Ming at Pedal Force, I'm sure they match well because he chose them to do so... kudos to Ming for that. People have said funny things about the bottle cages, but they cost $5 and are indestructable (Specialized mountain bike alloy model, pretty light too). The bike is a full pound lighter since this photo was taken with the addition of a 1460g Mike Garcia wheelset, 30mm niobium rims / White Ind. rear hub, 20/24 CX-Rays.

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